It is unlawful for any person subject to the jurisdiction of the United States—

(1) to use a high seas fishing vessel on the high seas in contravention of international conservation and management measures described in section 5504(e) of this title;

(2) to use a high seas fishing vessel on the high seas, unless the vessel has on board a valid permit issued under section 5503 of this title;

(3) to use a high seas fishing vessel in violation of the conditions or restrictions of a permit issued under section 5503 of this title;

(4) to falsify any information required to be reported, communicated, or recorded pursuant to this chapter or any regulation issued under this chapter, or to fail to submit in a timely fashion any required information, or to fail to report to the Secretary immediately any change in circumstances that has the effect of rendering any such information false, incomplete, or misleading;

(5) to refuse to permit an authorized officer to board a high seas fishing vessel subject to such person’s control for purposes of conducting any search or inspection in connection with the enforcement of this chapter or any regulation issued under this chapter;

(6) to forcibly assault, resist, oppose, impede, intimidate, or interfere with an authorized officer in the conduct of any search or inspection described in paragraph (5);

(7) to resist a lawful arrest or detention for any act prohibited by this section;

(8) to interfere with, delay, or prevent, by any means, the apprehension, arrest, or detection of another person, knowing that such person has committed any act prohibited by this section;

(9) to ship, transport, offer for sale, sell, purchase, import, export, or have custody, control, or possession of, any living marine resource taken or retained in violation of this chapter or any regulation or permit issued under this chapter; or

(10) to violate any provision of this chapter or any regulation or permit issued under this chapter.

Terms Used In 16 USC 5505

  • Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
  • high seas: means the waters beyond the territorial sea or exclusive economic zone (or the equivalent) of any nation, to the extent that such territorial sea or exclusive economic zone (or the equivalent) is recognized by the United States. See 16 USC 5502
  • high seas fishing vessel: means any vessel of the United States or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States used or intended for use&mdash. See 16 USC 5502
  • international conservation and management measures: means measures to conserve or manage one or more species of living marine resources that are adopted and applied in accordance with the relevant rules of international law, as reflected in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and that are recognized by the United States. See 16 USC 5502
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • officer: includes any person authorized by law to perform the duties of the office. See 1 USC 1
  • person: means any individual (whether or not a citizen or national of the United States), any corporation, partnership, association, or other entity (whether or not organized or existing under the laws of any State), and any Federal, State, local, or foreign government or any entity of any such government. See 16 USC 5502
  • Secretary: means the Secretary of Commerce. See 16 USC 5502
  • vessel: includes every description of watercraft or other artificial contrivance used, or capable of being used, as a means of transportation on water. See 1 USC 3